Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Michael Jackson tops some sort of chart

The bemusing Popscores system has discovered that 82% of Michael Jackson fans claim they'd buy everything he releases. This isn't really news, though, is it? Clearly, anyone who's stuck with the man through not just the child abuse cases, lying about benefit records twice, the "live performances" that insult rather than merely disappoint, to say nothing of the limping stuff he's done over the last twenty years, is so blinkered by fandom that, yes, of course they'd buy any old toss he knocks off. What Popscores tells us is that he's very popular with people with whom he's popular - that isn't quite the same thing as telling us that he's still popular.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

These fans are scary. They remind me of George W Bush's 26-percenters, the hardcore supporters who'll stick by him whatever he does, giving him that guaranteed minimum 26% approval rating.

Did you see Stephen Colbert's address at the White House Press dinner last year? It was inspired. One line went something like "This president doesn't let things like 26% approval ratings worry him. He doesn't see the glass as half-empty, he sees it as half-full! Well, technically it's 26% full. And to be honest, most of that 26% is backwash..."

Seriously, they'd buy anything Jackson released? Even a range of Jesus Juice?

Anonymous said...

Michael Jackson is very weird, but there's no doubting the guy's got talent by the bucket load.
I'm very interested to find out what his new album is like and I'm sure many other non-fans are too. The man is the biggest selling artist in the world for christ's sake!
Selling more than the Beatles and Elvis must count for something.

Cobardon said...

I think Jacko has one part talent to nine parts hype, myself.

I'm sure he'll sell some copies if he ever puts out another record though: people always enjoy staring at car crashes.

The biggest selling artist is entirely speculative though, as records of such things are notoriously hard to find. It's possible, if unlikely, that he's sold more than the two you listed, given that they have gone on selling in huge amounts these last 20 years while Jacko's sales dribble to zero. It's not impossible, but I'm not convinced.

Anonymous said...

@James: comparing Michael Jackson to Bush is just plain sick. You don't like him, fair enough. But there's the biggest difference between looking forward to a harmless product an artist will release and sticking with a retarded and dangerous political leader.

Tons of non-Jackson fans are curious to hear what he'll come up with. I can't say I really enjoyed his last album, but this one sounds a lot more promising, and I know for a fact that loads of people feel the same way. So this new album will definitely sell, you can count on it.

Besides, this is Michael Jackson we're talking about, not some corporate rubbish. When you already like his previous material you know there's a low chance you'll be disappointed by any of his records. The man is talented and you can't help that.

You're clearly everything but a fan (either that or you're painfully stuck in the early 80's), and I'm sure no matter what any critic says, no matter how much success Jackson's future projects have, you'll carry on saying eveything he does is cow dung... So I'm afraid the bitter tone of your post doesn't have all that much relevance in the end.

Hopefully though, Jackson's new CD will bomb, so at least you can have some peace of mind. But I truly think that's highly unlikely.

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